A young woman who left a motorist paralysed after she crashed into her car while high on drink and drugs has walked free from court.

Kirsty Hopkins, 22, lost control of her vehicle on a bend after smoking cannabis and ploughed into a car containing Lisa-Marie Stoneley and her family.

The mother-of-two’s injuries were so severe she spent eight days in a coma and three months in hospital with swelling on the brain.

Lisa-Marie Stoneley was left in a wheelchair after her car was hit by a driver high on drink and drugs. Her partner, Louis Wood and children Ryan and Faye, were also in the car. Only Faye escaped unharmed

Kirsty Hopkins, 22, pictured, lost control of her car on a bend after drinking and smoking cannabis and smashed head-on into a car containing Lisa-Marie Stoneley and her family

She suffered two broken legs, ripped cartilage in both knees, multiple fractures and all but one of her vertebrae were damaged.

Miss
Stoneley, 35, is now confined to a wheelchair and the community carer
has had to abandon her dream of training to become a nurse.

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But
despite being on bail for a similar offence at the time, she managed to
escape with just an eight-year driving ban and a two-year suspended
prison sentence.

Crown
Prosecution Service guidelines state that the maximum sentence for the
offence of dangerous driving if tried at a crown court is two years,
with a fine and mandatory disqualification until a new driving test is
passed.

Yesterday Miss
Stoneley criticised the sentence, saying she was furious that Hopkins
had failed to show any remorse for her actions.

The wreckage of Ms Stoneley's car. The mother-of-two was in a coma for eight days and spent three months in hospital with swelling on the brain

The court heard that Kirsty Hopkins drove 'at speed' on the wrong side of the B3168 near Ilminster, Somerset, before ploughing into the family car

She
added: ‘No sentence can compare to the one I have. I’m in a wheelchair,
I take strong painkillers, I have just had my tenth operation and I’m
likely to have more.

‘It’s a
relief it’s over. I’m pleased she can’t drive but the sentences need to
be tougher. She hasn’t made any attempt to apologise to us.’

The
crash happened in October 2012 as Miss Stoneley was driving home from a
carnival with her partner Louis Wood, one-year-old baby Faith,
17-year-old son Ryan and his friend Jamie Steer. Hopkins had been
driving ‘at speed’ on the wrong side of the B3168 in Somerset before she
collided with the family’s car.

Miss Stoneley was airlifted to hospital where she remained fighting for her life for eight days.

Tara Wolfe, prosecuting, said Hopkins, of Dowlish Ford, Somerset, made no attempt to brake or swerve to avoid the collision.

Police
found a bottle of vodka in her car and 3.8g of cannabis in her bag –
but Hopkins claims that she has no recollection of the incident.

Ms Stoneley suffered two broken legs, ripped cartilage in both knees, multiple fractures and all but one of her vertebrae were damaged or broken

X-ray of Ms Stoneley's pelvis being held together by two bolts. The court heard that police found a bottle of vodka in Ms Hopkins' car and 3.8 grams of cannabis in her bag

The court was told that all those in Miss Stoneley’s car – except for baby Faith – are still affected by their injuries.

Taxi
driver Mr Wood, 37, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and has been signed off work indefinitely.

Miss
Stoneley, from Ilminster, Somerset, has been left with memory problems.
She also fears her injuries may get worse – as they could lead to her
developing osteoporosis and arthritis in her spine.

Miss
Stoneley’s son Ryan has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress
and some of Mr Steer’s injuries have not been healing properly.

X-rays showing damage to Ms Stoneley's leg and vertebrae. She has also been left with memory problems and cannot pursue her childhood dream of becoming a nurse

Lawrence
Wilcox, defending, claimed that Hopkins – who appeared in court on
crutches after being involved in a separate crash – had expressed
remorse.

He went on to say that she had stopped drinking and ‘largely reduced her use of cannabis’.

Sentencing, Judge David Ticehurst said he would take into account her psychological problems.

But
he warned that her previous bail ‘aggravated’ the situation and said
getting into the car was like ‘putting a lethal weapon’ in her hands,
adding: ‘You caused life-changing injuries to a number of people. It’s
more by luck than judgement that some of them did not die.’